Wurstteppich
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- Joined
- Jan 20, 2015
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Hi,
I am searching for a combined DAC / headphone amplifier for my new Beyerdynamic T1 headphone. Besides the T1 I also want to connect two Canton AM5 active speakers trough XLR to the device. The device itself should be connected by USB to my PC, which means it should also act as a sound interface.
Right now I already have the devices below here for a test:
- ASUS Xonar Essence One MKII
- ASUS Xonar Essence One MKII Muses Edition
- Oppo HA-1
I also tested the Cambridge DacMagic Plus, however this one sounded too bright and less warm to me.
I really like the Oppo HA-1 from the sound, in fact it seems to sound a little bit better than the E1 Muses, there are several things which I find annoying:
- No separate volume control for the headphone. After switching it on I always have to take care it's half-muted, so the attached active speakers don't play while the headphone does.
- The headphone output (1/4, not the XLR one) seem to just manage the T1, but I am already in the last quarter of the volume control. For now I would never put it against the edge, however with the E1 mentioned above I am just at half of the volume to get the volume I need. Seems it hasn't so much juice on the 1/4 headphone jack as the ASUS does (I already have high gain configured).
- The thing is pretty long, the E1 just needs the half of the space on my desk.
- Price point. Here in Germany this one is sold for 1499,- EUR which very much differs from the US pricing (I think you guys pay 1/3rd less).
Now the Essence One Muses MKII has some advantages of its own:
- Low volume leveles are almost not managable with active speakers, since just turning the volume control from 0 up one click give a loud volume output to the active speakers.
- No remote control (doesn't really need to have that).
- I find the HA-1 has the better soundstage. Don't know how to describe it, but it sounds richer to me.
- It's silver while the rest of my stuff is black. There is a black one, but it hasn't got the Muses-01 OP-Amps. I am considering to change the Op-Amps in the E1 MKII with the DSD Upgrade Kit to Muses-02 if I will go for that device.
- Sometimes the device doesn't detect that it's feeded by USB. I haven't found why, but maybe it has to be powered on already when I boot my computer.
So from my feeling I would tend more towards the HA-1, however that I am almost at the end of the volume control when using it with the T1 confused my a bit.
So my question would be, if someone of you guys made similar experiences or if you have other recommendations for a combined DAC / headphone amp?
I am searching for a combined DAC / headphone amplifier for my new Beyerdynamic T1 headphone. Besides the T1 I also want to connect two Canton AM5 active speakers trough XLR to the device. The device itself should be connected by USB to my PC, which means it should also act as a sound interface.
Right now I already have the devices below here for a test:
- ASUS Xonar Essence One MKII
- ASUS Xonar Essence One MKII Muses Edition
- Oppo HA-1
I also tested the Cambridge DacMagic Plus, however this one sounded too bright and less warm to me.
I really like the Oppo HA-1 from the sound, in fact it seems to sound a little bit better than the E1 Muses, there are several things which I find annoying:
- No separate volume control for the headphone. After switching it on I always have to take care it's half-muted, so the attached active speakers don't play while the headphone does.
- The headphone output (1/4, not the XLR one) seem to just manage the T1, but I am already in the last quarter of the volume control. For now I would never put it against the edge, however with the E1 mentioned above I am just at half of the volume to get the volume I need. Seems it hasn't so much juice on the 1/4 headphone jack as the ASUS does (I already have high gain configured).
- The thing is pretty long, the E1 just needs the half of the space on my desk.
- Price point. Here in Germany this one is sold for 1499,- EUR which very much differs from the US pricing (I think you guys pay 1/3rd less).
Now the Essence One Muses MKII has some advantages of its own:
- Low volume leveles are almost not managable with active speakers, since just turning the volume control from 0 up one click give a loud volume output to the active speakers.
- No remote control (doesn't really need to have that).
- I find the HA-1 has the better soundstage. Don't know how to describe it, but it sounds richer to me.
- It's silver while the rest of my stuff is black. There is a black one, but it hasn't got the Muses-01 OP-Amps. I am considering to change the Op-Amps in the E1 MKII with the DSD Upgrade Kit to Muses-02 if I will go for that device.
- Sometimes the device doesn't detect that it's feeded by USB. I haven't found why, but maybe it has to be powered on already when I boot my computer.
So from my feeling I would tend more towards the HA-1, however that I am almost at the end of the volume control when using it with the T1 confused my a bit.
So my question would be, if someone of you guys made similar experiences or if you have other recommendations for a combined DAC / headphone amp?
